Terracotta tiles and reclaimed bricks clad the walls and roofs of this house in an inner suburb of Melbourne, which Austin Maynard Architects designed for a keen gardener.
The owner of Terracotta House approached Austin Maynard Architects to help her create independent homes on a shared lot for herself and her son's family.
Top: the home is comprised of three volumes. Above: it is accessed via an alleyway
Located in the Fitzroy area of Melbourne, the site consisted of a cottage and a garden large enough to accommodate a second property along with a shared library pavilion.
The project involved renovating the existing street-facing cottage where the son's family now live, as well as building a new house for the client with independent access to a laneway at the rear of the site. Terracotta tiles and recycled brick were used for the facade
In between the two buildings is a shared, productive garden that was a key element of the brief. This space also houses a library building that can be used for guest accommodation.
"Terracotta House is, essentially, a communal-living family 'compound' ? akin to a village square, with the owner and her son's family living individually in homes on a shared block," said Austin Maynard Architects.
"As an architecture practice we always aim to maximise space, relate internal spaces to the garden, embrace the street and make the most of laneways," the studio added. "The site that [the client] Belinda purchased offered pot...